Container carrier



R. w. ERICKSON 3,369,69fi

Feh 2Q, 1953 CONTAINER CARRIER 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 13, 1965 Feb.20, 1968 R. w. ERICKSON 3,369,696

' CONTAINER CARRIER Filed Dec. 13, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR.RICHARD w. ERICKSON Feb. 20, 1968 R. w. ERICKSON 3,369,696

CONTAINER CARRIER Filed Dec. 13, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 v INVENTOR. IRICHARD W. ERICKSON I his A TTORNE Y5 Feb. 20, 1968 I w, ERlCKSON3,369,696

CONTAINER CARRIER Filed Dec. 13, 1965 6 Shets-5heet 5 I [if INVENTOR.RICHARD W. ERICKSON bi taiww ms Arrow/5Y5 R. W. ERICKSON CONTAINERCARRIER Feb. 20, 1968 v 6 Sheets- Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 15, 1965 FIG. 2/

INVENTOR. RICHARD W. ERICKSON BY Ma, 3% wen-0M his A TTORNEYS fih fihPatented Feb. 20, 1968 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE The specificationdiscloses different embodiments of a one-piece vcontainer carrier of atype which holds containers in nested interlocking relationship andincludes upper and lower channeled elements engageable with the chimesat opposite ends of the containers and means integrally formed with bothchanneled elements and connecting them together to hoid them ininterlocking relationship with the chimes at opposite ends of thecontainers. The specification also discloses a method and apparatus forpackaging containers in a container carrier of this type.

In one embodiment of the container carrier one of the channeled elementshas an upstanding cap formed at the center, the outer wall thereofdefining at least part of a channel for holding a chimed container andthe inner wall serving as a bottle engaging wall so that the channeledelement can be detached from the carrier and used as a bottle cap afterit has served its purpose as a container carrier.

In another embodiment of the container carrier the container carrierincludes means formed within the channels of the channeled elements toprevent relative movement of the chimes within the channeled elements.In one form of the invention serrations are formed on at least one ofthe channel defining walls to prevent movement of the chime within therespective channel. In another embodiment a protuberance is formed onone of the channel defining walls to interlock with the chimed portionof the container.

This invention relates to a novel container carrier for carrying innested relationship a plurality of containers having chimes at both endsand to a method and apparatus for packaging the containers in thecontainer carrier.

The application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSer. No. 139,262, filed Sept. 19, 1961.

The novel container carrier of the present invention includes a pair ofconnected channeled elements which engage opposite ends of thecontainers and interlock with the chimes thereof to hold a cluster oftwo or more containers in side-by-side tangential nested relationship.The novel container carrier of the present invention does not requirecardboard or other wrapping material around the containers and leavesthe walls of the containers exposed to viewv The container carrier ofthe present invention is ideally suited for fabrication by molding fromhigh strength, durable, flexible and inexpensive plastic materials sothat the container carrier can be disposed of when the containers areremoved therefrom.

All of the containers are readily packed simultaneously in the containercarrier by a novel method and apparatus which also forms part of thepresent invention.

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, referencecan be made to the detailed description which follows and to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan of one embodiment of the container carrier of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the container carrier shown inFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the container carrier after ithas been straightened or set up in readiness for receiving the cans orcontainers;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front (or rear) elevational view of the set-upcarrier of FIGURE 3, a portion of the handle being omitted for purposesof illustration;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the set-up carrier having assembled to itsix containers or cans;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 6-6of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view, taken on the line 77 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of a modified form of the carrier whereinspacer means are provided for engagement with end portions of the cansor containers;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 99of FIGURE 8, showing also in similar section a lower portion of anotherpack resting on top of the pack of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of still another embodiment out of thecontainer carrier of the present invention;

FIGURE 11 is an end view of the container carrier shown in FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view of part of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a plan view illustrating apparatus for assemblingcontainers in the novel container carrier of the present invention;

FIGURE 14 is a plan view illustrating the container carrier set up forreceiving the containers to be carried thereby;

FIGURE 15 is a view similar to FIGURE 14 showing the containersassembled in the container carrier with the chimes of the containerslocked within the respective channeled elements;

FIGURE 16 is a view showing the cluster of containers packaged in thecontainer carrier being discharged from the apparatus shown in FIGURE13;

FIGURE 17 is a cross-sectional elevation of the container carrier set upto receive the chimed containers;

FIGURE 18 is a view similar to FIGURE 17 taken along the line ISI8 ofFIGURE 15 showing the chimes of the containers locked in the channeledelements;

FIGURE 19 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of thecontainer carrier in which two containers are carried in side-by-siderelation;

FIGURE 20 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one of the channeledelements of the container carrier shown in FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2I21 of FIGURE20; and

FIGURE 22 is an enlarged perspective view of another embodiment ofchanneled element adapted to receive the chimes of a container.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 to 7, the container carrier or pack of thepresent invention is illustrated as comprising a single moldedthree-dimensional plastic piece C which may be fabricated by a singlemolding operation. The plastic piece constituting the pack structurecomprises a plurality of upper and lower channeled members 1d and 12.,respectively, the said channeled members having channel-defining meanswhich are interlockingly engageable with the tops and bottoms,respectively, of a plurality of containers, illustrated herein ascircular cans 14. As seen in FIGURE 5, the containers 14 are placedside-by-side in closely spaced relation, there being six in numberconstituting a standard pack quantity. The chan nel defining formationson the channeled elements are identical and include an inner ring-shapedupstanding formation 16 and four outer curved lugs or walls 18 spacedapart from the outer wall or the ring-shaped formation at each of thecorners of the channeled element 10. The channel defining formations onthe channeled elements 12 are identical and include an inner ring-shapedupstanding formation 22 and four outer curved lugs or walls 24 spacedapart from the outer wall of the ring-shaped formation at each of thecorners of the channeled element 12. There are large centrally locatedapertures or openings formed in bases of the upper channeled elements 10and similar apertures or openings 26 formed in the bases of the lowerchanneled elements 12. The ring-shaped formations 16 and 22 reinforceand impart rigidity to the channeled elements 12 and 22. In addition,the inner walls of these ring-shaped formations provide grippingsurfaces for handling and setting up the container carrier, as will bedescribed below, and the openings 20 and 26 afford access to these innerwalls, as well as finger gripping openings to facilitate carrying thepackage. Gripping elements 167 described below engage these grippingsurfaces to hold the lower channeled elements 12 in posi tion and liftthe upper channeled elements 10 and orient them 180 to their overheadpositions shown in FIG- URE 3.

The plastic molded piece is preferably of linear polyethylene or similarplastic composition characterized by flexibility and resilience, as wellas appreciable strength or toughness and resistance to tearing orrupture. Accordingly, each of the corners of channeled members 10 and 12will readily yield to permit the chimes 54 of the containers 14 to beforced into the chime-receiving channels thereof.

The upper and lower channeled members 10, 12 are joined by tie meanscomprising a plurality of thin, flexible bands or strips 31), 32, 34 and36. As clearly seen in FIG URE 1, the strip 30, 32 straddle or extendbetween opposite portions of upper and lower channeled members 10, 12,whereas the webs 34, 36 straddle the remaining set or pair of channeledmembers 10, 12. The strips 32, 34 are arranged in spaced, parallelrelation, and tie strips 40, 42 and 44 interconnect the flexible webs30, 32, 34 and 36 as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the said tie strips beingin alignment with each other. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 2,the tie means comprising the connector strips 30, 32, 34 and 36 aremolded in the shape of a half loop, whereas the upper and lowerchanneled members 10, 12 are molded substantially in the same plane. Theextremities of the strips 30, 32, 34 and 36 are shown as connecting withthe channeled members 10, 12 at substantially right angles. Tie strips45 and 47 connect, respectively, the upper channeled members 10 and thelower channeled members 12, as seen in FIG- URE 1.

After molding of the piece illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, it may bestraightened to occupy or have the shape shown in FIGURES 3 and 4whereby the carrier structure is set up and adapted to accommodate sixcans or containers 14.

Referring to FIGURES 1-3, the carrier or pack structure also has ahandle member which is of substantially U-shaped formation, comprising apair of arms 48 joined to the upper channeled members 10, and atransverse handle bar 50, said arms and bar being molded in flat shapeas shown in FIGURE 2, substantially in the same plane as the channeledmembers 10, 12. Referring to FIGURE 5, the handle 48, 50 is arranged tolie flat against one side of the top portion of the assembled pack whenthe same is not in use. Accordingly, the handle requires no appreciableadditional space, and this is an important feature of the invention.When the pack is to be carried, the handle'48, 50 is grasped and willbend to the position shown in FIGURE 3, wherein it extends upward fromthe containers 14 for carrying purposes.

It will be seen from an inspection of FIGURES 3 and 4 that the tie meanscomprising the strips 30, 32, 34 and 36 extend between and connectportions of the channeled members 10, 12 which are spaced from thesupport means comprising the ring-shaped shoulders 16, 22 and thearcuate shoulders 18, 24. The strips 30, 32, 34 and 36 together with thetie strips 40, 42 and 44 are in the form of an open rectangularframework as seen in FIGURE 4. Because of the one-piece moldedconstruction, the channelled members 10, 12, tie means -36, strips 44and handle 48, 50 are all integral with each other and constitute asingle molded piece of resilient plastic material.

Referring to FIGURE 5 is will be seen that portions of the support meanson the upper and lower channeled members 19, 12 are adapted to engage asingle container, as for example, either of the centrally disposedcontainers at one side or the other of the pack. The channel-definingmeans comprising the circular shoulders 16 and 22 and curved shoulders18 and 24 are so arranged that the chimes or flanges 54 of thecontainers 14 are received in and are interlockingly engaged by therespective channels. In order to remove a container from the pack, it ismerely necessary for the consumer to lift one corner of an upperchanneled member 10, whereby the can is easily freed for removal.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9.This embodiment is similar in most respects to that of FIGURES l-7, butadditionally provides spacer devices which are engageable with certainof the containers at the ends thereof, to effect a spacing of the packswhen these are stacked one above the other. Portions and componentswhich are similar to those already described above have been givensimilar characters but with the sufiix a. As shown, containers 14a areheld assembled in a pack by upper and lower channeled members, only themembers 10a being visible in FIGURE 8,

. but FIGURE 9 shows a bottom channeled member 12a of a second packwhich has been placed on top of the pack shown in FIGURE 8. r

The embodiment of FIGURES 8 and 9 has arms 60 provided with enlargements62 in the shape of solid balls, the said enlargements being adapted toengage the juxtaposed top and bottom end portions of containers 14a oftwo packs supported one on the other. The balls 62 thus effect a spacingof the containers of the stacked packs, and provide added stability anda more precise alignment whereby a large number of packs may be stackedvertically without leaning appreciately and rendering the pileupunstable to the extent where it might be likely to fall. The arms 60 areshown in the form of this fiat webs; supplementing the spacing effectedby the balls 62 is the handle portion 48a, 50a which effects a spacingof the containers disposed at the other side of the pack, Accordingly, astable support in at least four widely spaced locations is had, of thefour corner containers of the pack, whereby a number of packs may bereadily stacked vertically without danger of falling.

An improved and preferred embodiment of the container carrier of thepresent invention is illustrated in FIGURES 10 through 12. In thatembodiment, the container carrier C comprises a pair of upper channeledelements and a pair of lower channeled elements 81. The channel definingformations on the upper elements 80 face oppositely to thechannel-forming formations of the elements 81 to facilitate and simplifythe set-up of the container carrier to receive the containers.

The upper channeled elements 80 are connected in predetermined spacedrelationship by a connecting strip 82; similarly, the channeled elements81 are connected in the same predetermined spaced relationship as theupper elements 80 by connecting strips 83. The pair of upper channeledelements 80, in turn, are connected to the pair of lower channeledelements 81 by four parallel connecting bands or strips 84. The extremeends of all of the connecting strips 84 are provided with grooves or Jrecesses 85 extending across one side thereof to provide hinges.

The channeled elements 86 and 81 are each threedimensional squarescomprising a centrally located circular gripping ring 86 and a pair ofparallel spaced-apart curved inner and outer formations 87 and 88,respectively, at each corner of the respective element defining betweenthem a channel 89. The outer curved formation 88 has a sloping surface90 which provides an incline from the extreme corner of the respectivechanneled elements so that as the chimes of the containers are pushedtoward their respective channels 89 they will force apart the upper andlower channeled elements 80 and 81 until the chimes enter the channelsat which time the inherent resiliency of the channeled elements and theconnecting strips 84 will cause the channeled elements to snap togetherto lock the container in place.

The lower channeled elements 81 have laterally projecting arms 9'1extending from opposite edges thereof, namely, the edges closest andmost remote to the channeled elements 86. These arms 91 are in the formof flat discs and engage and lend support to the chimes of sideby-sidecontainers at approximately their lines of tangency. Gripping rings 86having inner walls accessible from the sides opposite the sides on whichthe channels are formed are provided at the centers of the circularformations 8 6 and, as will be explained, facilitate machine handlingand orientation of the lower channeled elements 81.

The upper channeled elements 86 have a handle 93 connected thereto andlying in a plane with the connecting strips 3 the bases of the channeledelements and the arms 91. The ends of the handles are provided withgrooves or recesses 94, similar to the grooves or recesses 85, to formpivotal hinges. The handle 93 is also provided with flattened portions95 which engage and help support the chimes of side-by-side containersat approximately their lines of tangency (see FIGURE 16). The handle 93is, in use, raised to approximately right angles from itscontainer-engaging position shown in FIGURES 10, 11, 14, and 16 when itis grasped by the consumer.

The edges of the channeled elements 86 in proximity to the channeledelements 81 have arms 96 formed integrally therewith and lying in theplane of the handle and the arms 91. These arms 96 are in the form offlat discs which serve the same purpose as the arms 91.

In the particular form of the container carrier shown in FIGURES 10l2,the container carrier provides two bottle closure premiums. Toward thisend, the upper channeled elements 81) have walls 97 at the lower ends(as viewed in FIGURE 11) of the circular formations 86, providingrecesses in the upper surfaces of the channeled elements. Moreover, flatdiscs or rings 98 are formed integrally with the arm portions 96. Wheneach of the channeled elements 86 is detached or broken away from thehandle 93 and the connecting strips 82 and 8 1, the ring 98 of eachchanneled element 811 can be placed on the neck of a bottle and therecessed side of the channeled element can be snapped on the bottle toprovide a closure to replace a bottle cap removed from the bottle.

Turning now to the method and apparatus for setting up the containercarrier and packaging a cluster of containers therein, the apparatusshown in FIGURE 13 includes a fiat surface 109, a pair of conveyors 16 1each feeding a line of containers to the surface 100 at a loading orpackaging station, relatively low walls 162 guiding the containerstoward stops 103 to present a group of three containers in a'waitingposition on opposite sides of a container carrier, 21 pair of pushers164 for pushing a group of three containers toward opposite sides of aset up container carrier to lock the containers in the containercarrier, a discharge conveyor 165, and a pus-her 106 for pushing a6-pack cluster of containers from the loading station onto the dischargeconveyor 195. The pushers 164 each carry an extended wall 1134a whichserves as a gate to stop the feed of containers and maintain them inslipping engagement with the constantly moving conveyors 1111 until thepushers 104 are returned to their initial positions shown in FIGURE 13.

The container carrier C can be fed one at a time or several at a time tothe loading station from a stack, from a rotating magazine or from acontinuous roll from which they can be detached. The circular grippingrings 86 of the upper channeled elements can be engaged and gripped fromabove and the gripping rings 86 of the lower channeled elements 81 canbe engaged and gripped from below by gripping elements generallydesignated 167. These gripping elements 167, as best shown in FIG- URES17 and 18, include a plurality of articulated fingers 198 surrounding acentrally located movable wedge 109. The actuation of the wedge 109expands the articulated fingers 1118 into gripping engagement with thegripping rings 86 of the upper and lower channeled elements 80 and 81.

In setting up the container carrier, the lower channeled elements 81 arepositioned by the respective gripping elements 1197 in a positionbetween the pushers 164i, and the upper'gripping elements grip and swingthe upper channeled elements from the side-by-side positions shown inFIGURE 10 to the overhead position shown in FIG- URES 17 and 18. Theupper channeled elements 86 are maintained in parallel relationship withthe lower elements 81 while they are swung through a 90 are from theside-by-side to the overhead positions, and the con necting bands orstrips 84 are pivoted at the hinges 85 to upstanding positions at rightangles to the channeled elements 8t) and 81. It should be noted thatmaking the container carrier with the upper and lower channeled elements86 and 81 facing in opposite directions, as shown in FIGURE 10, incontrast to the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1 where they face in the samedirection, the gripping elements 107 can grip the upper channeledelements from above and need not be oriented in traveling through the 90arc. In the embodiment shown in FIG- URE l, the upper gripping elementswould have to grip the upper channeled elements from below and then beoriented 180 while traveling through the 90 arc. Therefore, invertingthe upper channel elements relative to the lower channeled elementsappreciably simplifies the packaging apparatus.

When the container carrier has been set up as shown in FIGURE 17, thepushers 104 are actuated to slide three containers toward the containercarrier from opposite directions. As shown in FIGURE 17, the chimes 54of the containers engage and slide along the sloped ramp surfaces 99 atthe corners of the channeled elements 611 and 81, stretching or forcingthe resilient material of the channeled elements apart until the chimesenter the channels 89, whereupon the channeled elements snap togetherlocking the containers in a six-pack cluster in nested relationship. Thepusher 106 then slides the sixpack onto the conveyor to discharge andclear the loading station for the next operation. As soon as the pushers104 are restored to their initial positions, additional containers areadvanced to the waiting positions by the conveyors 101.

It is understood that any number of containers can be assembled in oneor more container carriers simultaneously. For example, the containercarriers can be molded in relatively long strips or fed from acontinuous roll to the assembling station and the strips subdividedeither before or after the containers are locked therein into senaratepackages carrying any number of containers. The long continuous stripsor web of container carriers is made by molding continuous strings ofthe lower channeled elements and continuous strings of the upperchanneled elements. Packages for the desired number of containers can bemade by severing the connections between particular lower channeledelements and the connections between corresponding upper channeledelements.

Still another embodiment of the container carrier C of the presentinvention for packing two, three, four or more 7 containers in-line isillustrated in FIGURES 19 through 21. This container carrier includesupper and lower channeled elements 112 and 113, respectively, aconnecting strip 114 connecting the upper channeled elements 112, aconnecting strip 115 connecting the lower channeled elements 113, and aplurality of connecting strips 116 connecting the upper and lowerchanneled elements and having hinge connections at both ends. Thestructure is generally similar to the part of the container carriershown in FIGURES through 12 which serves to hold the two middlecontainers and with the excess portions deleted.

The channeled elements each include a pair of channel forming means,each channel being defined by spacedapart inner and outer curvedformations 117 and 11S, respectively. An inclined ramp surface 119 isprovided at each container-engaging corner of each channeled element tofacilitate the insertion of the containers between the upper and lowerchanneled elements.

If a series of three, four or more containers is locked together in anin-line relationship by the container carrier shown in FIGURES 19-21,slippage of the container chimes relative to the channels which tends tomove the containers out of the in-line relationship can be prevented orminimized by the serrations 120 (see FIGURE 20) in the walls definingthe channels. Also, a protuberance or knob 121 is formed integrally withthe inner wall formation 117 to engage an upper outer edge of the chimeand thereby lock the chime on the respective channel.

Shown in FIGURE 22 is another form of channeled element, which may beemployed either as an upper or lower channeled element in, for example,the container carrier embodiment depicted in FIGURES 10 through 12. Herea single channeled element 130 in the form of a three-dimensional squarecomprises a centrally located circular gripping ring 131, having anupstanding exterior cylindrical wall 132, and a pair of wall formations133 and 134 disposed at each corner of the element 130, defining betweenthe formations 133 and 134 and the cylindrical wall 132, achime-receiving channel 135. Integrally formed with the element are thenecessary connecting strips 137 and 138 which function in an identicalmanner to the strips 83 and 84 in the embodiment shown in FIGURES 10through 12. Furthermore, the element 130 is shown to have a pair ofoutwardly projecting arms 140 extending from opposite edges of theelement 130. As with the aforementioned embodiment of FIGURES 10 through12, the arms 140 engage and support the chimes of side-by-sidecontainers at approximately their point of tangency.

The chime-receiving channels 135 are disposed adjacent each corner ofthe element 130. The formations 133 and 134, disposed at each corner ofthe element 130, are each identical in construction and positioned alongadjacent edges of the element 130. Each of the formations has a topsurface 142 which includes a horizontal portion 142a and a slopingportion 142b which provides an incline from the horizontal portion 142ato the corner of the element 130. The sloped edges 142b of eachformation 133 and 134 are so arranged that they cooperate to define asloped ramp which will engage a chime of a can or container which isbeing pushed towards the chime-receiving cavity 135, and as they areengaged move away from the chimes permitting them to enter the channel135, at which time the inherent resiliency of the channeled element andthe connecting strips will lock the container in place in the channel135 between upper and lower of the elements 130.

The invention has been shown in preferred forms and by way of exampleonly, and various modifications and variations may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention,therefore, is not to be limited to any particular form or embodimentexcept insofar as such limitations are expressly set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A molded three-dimensional plastic container carrier for carrying innested interlocking relationship a plurality of containers havingcylindrical chimes at both ends comprising upper and lower channeledelements, each channeled element including inner upstanding chimeengaging mean integrally formed with the respective channeled elementadjacent the inner side of the chime of a container and outer upstandingchime engaging means integrally formed with the respective channeledelement adjacent the outer side of the chime of a container, meansintegrally formed with and connecting said channeled elements, and meansformed on at least one of said up standing chime engaging means toimpede relative movement between the chime and the respective channeledelement.

2. A container carrier as set forth in claim 1 in which said relativemovement impeding means includes a series of serrations engaging an arcof the chime to increase the frictional engagement between the channeland the chime of the container to prevent relative movement of the chimewithin the respective channel.

3. A container carrier as set forth in claim 1 in which said relativemovement impeding means includes a projection integrally formed with oneof the upstanding chime engaging means above the base of the channel toengage and interlock with the chimed portion of the container to preventaccidental removal of the chime from the respective channel.

4. In a molded three dimensional plastic container for carrying innested interlocking relationship a plurality of containers havingcylindrical chimes at both ends comprising upper and lower channeledelements, each channeled element including inner upstanding chimeengaging means integrally formed with the respective channeled elementadjacent the inner side of the chime of the container and outerupstanding chime engaging means integrally formed with the respectivechanneled element adjacent the outer side of the chime of the containerand means integrally formed with and connecting the channeled elements,at least one of the channeled elements being characterized by anupstanding annular bottle cap formed at the center and defined by anannular wall and a cover wall, the outside of the annular wall formingat least part of one of the inner chime engaging means and the insidethereof a wall for engaging and interlocking with the open end of abottle, whereby the channeled element can be detached from the carrierand used as a bottle cap after the carrier has served its purpose.

5. A bottle engaging channeled element as set forth in claim 4 includinga loop lying in the same plane as said channeled element for engagingthe neck of a bottle and a bendable connection between the flexible loopand the channeled element and lying in the same plane as the loop andchanneled element.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,527 9/1961 Jennings et al.22094 X 3,003,805 10/1961 Glazer 220102 3,134,485 5/1964 Bonkowski etal. 206 3,203,580 8/1965 Erickson 220102 DAVID M, BOCKENEK, PrimaryExaminer,

